"I don't know," Ji Jie shook her head. "I've barely exchanged a few words with her. I don't have a single acquaintance in this whole school."
"Hey, what do you mean by 'a single'?" Cheng Yunqiao leaned in gently and smiled. "At least the two of us are pretty close now, right?"
Seeing that Ji Jie didn't offer a direct response, Cheng Yunqiao immediately stopped and didn't push further.
Among all the adults Ji Jie had encountered before, few possessed such keen observation and the ability to hold back and let go with such ease.
A master of risk management.
This girl had done plenty of stoking the fire in the original story—Duan Baoni's later descent into madness owed much to her efforts.
After all, she was the bosom friend. Who could withstand, while tormented by love, her whispering encouragement: "Brave Nini, don't fear hardship!"
—The so-called true friend is one who supports you like this no matter what.
She might have hesitated otherwise, but after being moved by those words, she charged straight in.
"I need to get ready—off to class now." Cheng Yunqiao rose and smoothed her skirt, winking playfully at her. "I'll come find you after school. I know lots of fun places. I'll bring a few friends along—it'll definitely be a good time."
"Okay." Ji Jie agreed directly. The timing worked out—she happened to have no tutoring tonight. "See you after school then."
Her voice was faint, yet she agreed so readily. It sounded like someone unwilling to let go of her pride, yet afraid of being left alone. Cheng Yunqiao was all too familiar with this type. She deliberately waited until she was standing up to leave before dropping one last line, leaving her wanting more.
"I'll ask Brother Chu if he wants to come too."
**
Ji Jie speculated that perhaps not everything had to happen according to the original plot.
She was in this world, holding a script that allowed her to foresee the future. Yet every person she faced was still real, each with their own thoughts and emotions.
They weren't pre-programmed routines—when influenced, their behavior would change too.
Outside the plot milestones, she could also make some moves that worked in her favor.
She scanned the plot notes from her notebook into her phone's photo album for easy reference at any time. The more important main storyline points were all marked.
This was her very own Death Note.
The quest window could appear anywhere, and the countdowns varied in length. She had to be ready at all times.
【By the way, the volleyball team has practice today. Want to go take a look?】
As school was about to end, Cheng Yunqiao messaged her. She replied quickly.
【I'll pass. Wei Chao and He Lingfeng will both be there. They probably don't want to see me.】
【Aw, don't say that】
【Cat shaking head.jpg】
【If you don't want to, that's fine—I just thought of it and mentioned it casually. Then let's head straight over. If we get there early, we can polish off a fruit platter first】
Cheng Yunqiao said someone was treating them to dinner, having booked the new Japanese place in the west of the city for omakase. The club they planned to hit was just a few hundred meters from the mall, so after dinner they could walk off the meal there.
They met in front of the teaching building. She had already changed her outfit—a denim jacket over a camisole dress.
Seeing Ji Jie, she looked a bit surprised. "Why didn't you change? You can keep a set at school, so you won't have to go home to change before going out."
"I can't be bothered to bring it." Most of her school locker was empty, with just a few books and odds and ends. Ji Jie casually shrugged off her school blazer, let her hair down, and ran her fingers through it.
Huading's uniform was finely made with a subtle logo, so it was perfectly fine to wear as everyday clothing.
Cheng Yunqiao didn't push her, instead linking arms with her and heading toward her family's car. Once in the back seat, she pulled a lip gloss from her bag. "Here, I just bought this. We'll need to touch up after dinner."
"You can use my cushion foundation—our shades are pretty close. Or we could just buy one at the mall, and I'll help you pick it out."
Ji Jie had brought her own makeup bag, but there was no reason to refuse such thoughtfulness. "Thank you."
"Why do you keep saying thank you all the time? So exhausting." She blinked. "If you really want to thank me, just spill more gossip about Wei Chao, hehe."
On the way, Ji Jie sent a WeChat message home to check in.
She knew Huo Zhenyan didn't interfere with these things, and there was no curfew at home either. He Lingfeng often came back in the middle of the night after going out for street racing and partying. In theory, she could stay out as late as she wanted.
But perhaps because she was a girl, Huo Zhenyan perfunctorily asked what time she'd be home.
[Probably around eleven]
Ji Jie typed that out, felt it was too conservative, and added a "thirty" at the end.
[Got it.]
She replied with a "mmhm" sticker, turned off her phone, and rubbed her eyes.
"Nini, honestly, I think you look better without glasses. Hmm… you have a slightly round-square face, so you'd suit longer bangs—get French bangs."
Having absorbed these things from her surroundings since childhood, Cheng Yunqiao offered her advice. "And get contacts later—once you're used to them, they're super convenient."
Ji Jie thought that made sense. "I'll give it a try."
She herself was still in the adjustment period. From face shape to features, her current appearance was almost completely different from her original one. Every morning when she got up and looked in the mirror, she'd blank out for two seconds.
If there was any similarity at all, it was only in her eyes. Both she and Duan Baoni had phoenix eyes with hidden double eyelids.
The Japanese restaurant was inside a shopping complex, blending traditional Japanese simplicity with modern understated luxury. The entire place used ambient lighting design, and the corridor to the private room was a bit dim.
When they pushed open the private room door, the face sitting under the light stood out strikingly.
A handsome, elegant young man was pouring tea—a wolf cut with slightly longer bangs. He wore a dark blue short-sleeved shirt, revealing a stretch of well-defined wrist.
Ji Jie realized there wasn't a single unattractive kid in this whole world. No matter their personality, at least they were a sight to behold.
Cheng Yunqiao smiled and pointed at him. "This is my childhood friend Zhu Yixun. Piggy."
"Is that how you introduce me?" He'd apparently been waiting a while, his tone a bit impatient. When he looked up, he too had a pair of phoenix eyes. "Hurry up and come in, it's so noisy out there."
"Don't rush."
Cheng Yunqiao pulled her inside and reintroduced him with more ceremony. "This is tonight's philanthropist treating us to dinner, Boss Piggy! And this is my classmate, Duan Baoni."
"You two are in the same class?" Only then did Zhu Yixun look at her, pushing over a teacup.
They sat down one after another. Ji Jie lightly tapped the table with her knuckles and said politely, "Hello. I just transferred here."
"Didn't expect that, did you? I told you, she's a pretty girl you've definitely never seen before."
Cheng Yunqiao picked up her teacup and took a sip, then pouted and stuck out her tongue. "So bitter. Why didn't you just order alcohol? What are you playing at, putting this out here."
Ji Jie laughed at just the right moment, and the atmosphere in the private room warmed up.
Before long, Chu Yao was the last to arrive. When he saw her, he smiled first. "Why'd you come in your school uniform? I thought we were having a class meeting."
He had actually shown up.
In the original story, Chu Yao hadn't come out with them that night.
But because she'd sent out a small signal that gave Cheng Yunqiao a different idea, Chu Yao's course of action had shifted along with it.
Ji Jie felt a small thrill of excitement.
The subtitles at the edge of her vision showed no abnormal alerts. That proved she could, to some degree, change the direction of the plot.
"What, you seem a little surprised to see me off campus?" He sat down beside Ji Jie. Cheng Yunqiao had deliberately taken the seat across from her, leaving that spot open for him.
"A little," Ji Jie admitted honestly. "But this is my first time having a meal with classmates since I transferred. I'd be a bit surprised no matter who showed up."
Zhu Yixun let out a light scoff, his amused gaze traveling back and forth between the two of them.
Cheng Yunqiao nudged him with her elbow and gave a sly wink.
Three of the people present were in the same class; only he attended Hande International High School, also a well-known private school. But even meeting for the first time, these undercurrents of tension were easy enough to read.
Chu Yao was the type to effortlessly command the room. He could chat animatedly about any topic, and with him around, the atmosphere never went dry. He was also quite familiar with Cheng Yunqiao, and their back-and-forth was lively.
By contrast, Ji Jie and Zhu Yixun were quieter.
Ji Jie wasn't called upon much, and she ate quite contentedly. She'd always liked Japanese food, and today's ingredients were top quality—every bite fresh and sweet.
She barely said a few words the whole time, only unconsciously raising an eyebrow when she ate something she liked. When her gaze occasionally met Zhu Yixun's across the table, she'd naturally look away.
That usual stiffness and awkwardness that came with the 'newcomer's gauntlet' left no trace on her.
She was too composed—which, conversely, invited suspicion.
At first impression, Zhu Yixun had pegged her as a dull, boring person. Now he added another note: she might be quite calculating.
Ji Jie was observing him too.
The novel said there were very few students from outside Huading. Zhu Yixun was the most important of them, and his conflict with He Lingfeng ran deep.
Actually, the two had very similar temperaments. It was just that He Lingfeng wore his on the surface, while Zhu Yixun's was all about contrast.
When he wasn't speaking, he was probably even more melancholic than she was. But the moment he opened his mouth, his blunt, fiery personality showed through completely.
"Are you coming to the club with us later?"
Cheng Yunqiao invited Chu Yao. "The one across the street—D&A. Haven't been in ages. Come with us."
"Won't it run too late?" Chu Yao smiled a little awkwardly. "The school dorms have a curfew."
"Oh, we won't let you get locked out. We'll definitely send you off before midnight." Cheng Yunqiao teased him. "Relax, Cinderella."
The smile on his face froze for a moment, but he still agreed, then turned to ask Ji Jie, "Is Baoni coming too?"
"Yes." Ji Jie nodded. "I haven't been out in a long time either."
After all, this was the real highlight of her night out.
D&A had members-only entry, but you could bring a plus-one. Neither Cheng Yunqiao nor Zhu Yixun was a first-timer.
It wasn't even ten yet. The place wasn't exactly buzzing, but the lights and music were on point. Cheng Yunqiao had taken off her denim jacket and was wearing a camisole, clinking glasses with her in the VIP booth and gossiping.
"Why did you bring up He Lingfeng earlier when school just let out?" Cheng Yunqiao asked, puzzled. "He and Wei Chao are on good terms, sure. But that's no reason for him to have it out for you."
"Hmm… he looks down on me, and on my mom too."
Ji Jie always kept things simple, but the information density was high. "Probably thinks we're not fit to be family with him."
Three of the four people wore expressions worth savoring.
She appreciated each one in turn, and thought Chu Yao still looked the most composed—he'd probably already caught wind of something.
"Your families' relationships are so complicated…" Cheng Yunqiao wanted to comfort her. "But it's fine. We'll just do our own thing. As long as you can keep things civil on the surface with that kind of person."
"He's also a bastard his stepmother brought into the family," Zhu Yixun suddenly spoke up, his voice cold. "Like he's any better himself. What right does he have to look down on anyone?"
"Ugh, don't say stuff that kills the mood. We're here to have fun." Before long the energy picked up, and Cheng Yunqiao called her to come dance.
"Come on, join us."
The lights made Ji Jie a little dazed, her heart pounding.
In the original text, this was the part where Duan Baoni stiffly refused. Because she was mired in adolescent insecurity, believing that her well-developed body wasn't thin enough, and therefore not beautiful enough.
But her body was actually beautiful. At 173 centimeters and 130 jin, she was just right—distinct curves were a sign of health.
Ji Jie originally had a high tolerance for alcohol, but her constitution was different now. Just a little bit made the dizziness hit hard.
This feeling of not being able to command her own body freely annoyed her. She took off her glasses and followed Cheng Yunqiao onto the dance floor to tame her limbs.
After a few years of working, she'd followed the trend of re-raising herself and signed up for dance classes too. She didn't like intense exercise, but her sense of rhythm was good, and practicing in the studio was the only time she didn't mind sweating.
Two buttons of her white school uniform shirt were undone. The cinched-waist cut meant that the moment she raised her arms, the beautiful undulation of her waistline was completely exposed. When she turned, the skirt hem flew up with her, like a folding fan snapping open—you could almost hear the crisp whoosh.
Moving with the music emptied her mind, and she really did need a chance to relax. Head tossing, hip swaying—her dance movements weren't big, with a kind of casualness, but her timing was so on point it was comfortable, drawing out a charm from deep in her bones that exceeded her age. Yet her face remained indifferent, expressionless.
A massive contrast. Rather than depraved and world-weary, it was more like a subtle disdain. Very arrogant.
And she herself didn't seem to realize it.
Zhu Yixun had initially been lounging lazily in the VIP booth sofa, his gaze resting on her for a few seconds before dimming. He adjusted his posture without a word.
Cheng Yunqiao excitedly shouted her name, pressing up against her. "You've got moves!"
Ji Jie stopped to catch her breath, blowing away the strands of hair that had flown onto her face. She felt a bit winded and needed to rest.
Still only one bar of battery left.
"Have some juice." Back at the VIP booth, Chu Yao looked after her. The music was too intense—he could only be heard by leaning close to her ear. "Don't go too hard. We still have school tomorrow."
"Oh, oh, oh…" Cheng Yunqiao followed her back and caught sight of this scene, her expression turning ambiguous. She was just about to tease her when she caught a glimpse of the figure she'd been thinking about from the corner of her eye, and instantly fell silent.
The heart doesn't obey. No matter how clever a kid is, the shyness and distress they can't hide when they see their secret crush will all be written plainly on their face. Even if only for a moment.
Ji Jie saw her expression change and turned to look as well. Sure enough. Across the dance floor, through the crowd, an unruly handsome face emerged.
Wei Chao had appeared.
Her alcohol-numbed nerves snapped back to sharpness in a heartbeat. It was as if she'd activated a god's-eye view—observing everyone's movements while simultaneously keeping track of changes in her quest log.
In the original text at this point, Cheng Yunqiao was egging her on to go find Wei Chao. Naturally, she wouldn't get any pleasant response—during the shoving, she got drenched in drinks and ultimately left the scene in miserable embarrassment.
Cheng Yunqiao knew that the more a girl was throwing herself at him, the more he'd be annoyed. That's why she kept encouraging her to "be brave," again and again.
But now there was Chu Yao as an option.
Cheng Yunqiao would inevitably weigh her choices.
If Duan Baoni and Chu Yao became a couple, she'd earn two favors. And if it failed, no big deal—after all, Chu Yao was much easier to deal with than Wei Chao.
Most importantly of all, that was the boy she herself had a secret crush on. Even knowing that Duan Baoni would only make a fool of herself going up there, she didn't want anyone stealing too much of Wei Chao's attention.
She still needed to save some effort for Huo Yuxi.
"You're that worried about Nini?"
Cheng Yunqiao withdrew her gaze, her expression back to normal, glowing with a sweet pink flush. She winked at the friends in the VIP booth. "Then why don't you personally send her home later? There's still time, anyway."
Cheng Yunqiao had chosen to play matchmaker between her and Chu Yao.
Ji Jie felt like the subtitles at the edge of her vision seemed to flicker. But only flicker.
No quest appeared!
She wasn't forced to go through the plot with Wei Chao.
After confirming for a few seconds, Ji Jie felt reassured and spoke up. "No need, my home is a bit far. I'll just take a taxi back."
Good—no need to go make a fool of herself. And maybe never again.
She was certain the plot could be changed, and there was plenty of room to maneuver from here on out. Just like back when she was preparing for the college entrance exams, figuring out the test-setter's way of thinking.
Damn exam-oriented education wins another round.
But this was the field she excelled in as a so-called "small-town exam warrior," and a faint joy still spread through her heart.
"It's fine, I'll have my driver take you later." Cheng Yunqiao found her more interesting than expected and didn't want to let her go yet. "Stay and play a bit longer."
"But I promised my brother I'd try to be back by eleven." Ji Jie said with a troubled expression. "I just arrived—it's not good to disobey."
That eldest brother of the Huo Family—Cheng Yunqiao had heard of him too. She'd seen him once at a parent-teacher meeting at school.
He Lingfeng was overbearing and arrogant at school, but in front of that older brother—related by neither blood nor name—he was as obedient as a docile puppy.
"Alright then, can't let you get scolded." Cheng Yunqiao conceded. "I'll have the driver take you. Text me when you get home, okay?"
"Okay."
"Let me walk you out." Chu Yao picked up her school uniform jacket and draped it gentlemanly over his elbow, as if he was very worried.
She really hadn't drunk much—once outside, the wind sobered her up. Chu Yao walked her to the car, closed the door for her with his own hand, and leaned down considerately to say, "See you tomorrow."
Ji Jie smiled at him too. "See you tomorrow."
Some people, once you've spent time with them, you just know. As considerate as he was, Chu Yao actually had no feelings for her.
He simply didn't want to disappoint his friend's kind intentions.
The timing was just right.
When she got home, the minute hand on the wall clock was just passing the number 5.
The entire floor was still very quiet. With no one around, Ji Jie rarely felt like having a look around.
She herself worked in drywall renovation—she'd studied interior design as an undergraduate and had done up several luxury homes over the years on the job—but none of them were as over-the-top as the one before her now. Especially at night, it made one think of medieval European castles; if the lights were a bit dimmer, ghosts might well appear.
She stepped into the elevator, got off on the third floor, and paused mid-step.
No ghosts in sight, but there was one living, breathing person.
In the common area that no one ever used, a reading lamp glowed on the small side table. Huo Zhenyan was sitting on the sofa reading, a pair of silver-rimmed glasses perched on his tall, straight nose bridge.
The sofa faced the elevator directly. The moment the doors opened, their eyes met.
Huo Zhenyan closed his book and stood up.
Now it went without saying.
He was clearly waiting for her.
Ji Jie held her book bag in one hand and her jacket in the other. There was obviously nothing contraband she was hiding, yet watching him walk over, she felt inexplicably guilty. "…Brother. I'm not late, am I?"
Indeed she wasn't. Huo Zhenyan's gaze fell on the loose collar of her shirt. She'd dozed off leaning sideways in the car, and the skin there had been chafed red by the seatbelt.
He suddenly leaned in, bending down. Ji Jie held her breath, staring straight at him, not daring to move.
The smell of alcohol and perfume mingled together. Huo Zhenyan asked, "How much did you drink?"
Ji Jie hesitated. Because she remembered that He Lingfeng also went to parties often, and those places always had some alcoholic drinks. He'd never been scolded for it either.
"Just a few sips." She ventured tentatively, "Is that not allowed?"
Huo Zhenyan said, "Not allowed."
"Okay." She nodded immediately, without even showing any displeasure, promising meekly, "I definitely won't do that again."
Still mature and sensible, correcting her mistakes once she knew of them, without the slightest hint of resistance.
Huo Zhenyan had nothing to lecture her about, yet for some reason he really wanted to sigh, and also felt a bit like laughing. "Alright, no more promises. Next time, don't come home at the very last second."
"Tonight the two of them video-called. Duan Feihong asked about you. I covered for you."
So it was the parents checking up on her.
Ji Jie brightened, inexplicably feeling much more relaxed than being stared down by him. "Got it, thank you."
"Mm." Huo Zhenyan had meant to tell her to go back and sleep early. But seeing her keep staring at his face, looking like she was hesitating to speak, he felt odd. "Say whatever you want to say."
She giggled, rarely a bit childish.
"You look so handsome in glasses." Then feeling that saying so wasn't quite respectful, she added, "Brother."